Skip to main content

Pro users are already unhappy with the upcoming Mac Pro

It’s not a good time to be a fan of Apple’s Mac Pro. The last few weeks have seen one bad news story follows another, and now pro-level users are venting their frustrations with Apple’s future plans.

Just yesterday, Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman claimed the upcoming revision of Apple’s powerful computer will lack user-upgradeable graphics options. It followed rumors that the next Mac Pro would come without an M2 Extreme chip, upgradeable memory, or a new design. And it’s safe to say that users are not happy.

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

Responding to Gurman’s latest news on Twitter, photographer Enrico Teofilo claimed an absence of user-upgradeable graphics would be a “total mistake,” before adding “PCIe support and huge user-upgradable RAM quantities are a requirement for people that are interested in buying a 50k$ rack-mountable Mac.”

Recommended Videos

The issue is that each Apple silicon chip that will be outfitted into the Mac Pro is what’s known as a system-on-a-chip, which combines the CPU, GPU, and memory into a single unit. That means none of the components can be upgraded after purchase, which could be a problem in an industry where workloads rapidly increase and computers must be upgraded to keep pace.

Teofilo’s concern about memory is based on previous reports that claimed the Mac Pro could “top out” at 192GB of RAM — far below the 1.5TB the current Mac Pro can utilize. Even with the faster unified memory offered by Apple silicon chips, the difference is still potentially huge.

‘Dead in the water’

MPX modules inside the Apple Mac Pro.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Dutch Dimension, meanwhile, was more blunt, saying the next Mac Pro will be “dead in the water” if the rumors prove to be correct. The account compared Apple’s graphics efforts unfavorably to those of Nvidia, asking why pro users would spend so much money on a computer that can’t keep up with rival offerings.

The issue of cost was another point of contention. Twitter user Alice_comfy speculated that the Mac Pro’s M2 Ultra chip might offer graphics performance around the level of Nvidia’s RTX 3090, being perhaps twice as fast as the graphics in the Mac Studio’s M1 Ultra chip. “Can’t see that being a big winner at 5 figure prices,” they noted.

That’ll leave it dead in the water. A dud for all but a tiny tiny fraction of power users. Really, what would be the point of the massive expenditure, if the AS GPU will be so far behind nVidia’s best.

— Dutch Dimension (@DimensionDutch) January 26, 2023

Other users were a little more hopeful, with consultant Joe Okubo suggesting that one way around the graphics shortfall would be for Apple to offer eGPU expansion cards to boost performance. Right now, though, there is precious little in the way of eGPU rumors for the Mac Pro, and it’s not even known if such solutions will work with Apple silicon chips.

Perhaps the most direct response was put forward by @goodo1dday, who stated that a lack of graphics expansion will have “defeated the point” of a modular Mac Pro. “Bring back the trashcan design,” they suggested. After all the hate it got, we never thought we’d see someone advocating for a return of 2013’s cylindrical and utterly non-modular Mac Pro, yet here we are.

Alex Blake
Alex Blake has been working with Digital Trends since 2019, where he spends most of his time writing about Mac computers…
M4 MacBook Pro: Here’s everything we know so far
A person using the M4 MacBook Pro.

The M4 MacBook Pro has finally landed, and with it come boosted performance and a whole stack of new features. It's one of the biggest MacBook upgrades in the last few years.

Whether you're unsure if it's right for you or you just want to learn everything there is to know about the M4 MacBook Pro, we've got the answers here. Read on to see what's new in Apple's latest pro-level laptop.
Price and release date

Read more
The MacBook Air just got a surprise upgrade that everyone will love
The MacBook Air on a white table.

Apple announced an unexpected change to the current M2 and M3 MacBook Air today: more memory. Alongside the overarching bump to RAM in base configurations of the M4 iMac, Mac mini, and MacBook Pro, Apple also announced that the 8GB versions of the M2 and M3 MacBook Air have also been removed from the lineup.

Starting today, the M2 MacBook Air and M3 MacBook Air will both have 16GB as the starting configuration. But here's the kicker: Apple isn't raising prices. That means if you'd spent $1,199 on an M2 MacBook Air with 16GB of RAM yesterday, you'd be getting it today for just $999. As much as that'll sting for recent buyers, it's great news for people buying MacBook Airs this holiday season.

Read more
The new M4 MacBook Pro comes with these 7 major changes
MacBook Pro with M4

Apple has officially announced the M4 MacBook Pro in both 14-inch and 16-inch screen sizes. In addition to the base M4 model, they also come in M4 Pro and M4 Max configurations in both sizes.

But let's be real: the M3 MacBook Pro was already a fantastic laptop. Is it really worth upgrading to the new model? I won't know for sure until I've tested them myself, but here are the six major changes you need to know about when it comes to the next generation of MacBook Pros.

Read more